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     I Never Should have sent this letter to the US Attorney in early March 2009

U.S. Attorney

Financial Crimes Task Force of Southwestern PA

1001 California Avenue, Room 2100

Pittsburgh, PA  15290-9000

Ms. U.S. Attorney:

On March 7, 2008, I respectfully asked you to investigate American Express for encouraging credit card laundering, factoring and mail fraud. I do not believe that you investigated American Express when in fact; you may have sided with them. Here is why I think that:

Recently, an American Express attorney updated my attorney about your case. This deliberate action confirmed past presumptions I hoped were wrong. Let me clarify:

In a letter to your investigators dated April 3, 2007, I wrote, "If you require further background, documents or bookkeeping data, please let us know." On April 13, 2007, I again wrote, "If you require further documentation, please let us know." I would have delivered any documentation requested. Yet, two weeks later, in they came. Beyond the unnecessary visit, I sensed from the beginning that something was inappropriate about this burgle. For example:

Several items to be seized under the Search Warrant had already been given to the investigators.  I was particularly taken aback by the snickering and giggling heard in adjoining rooms. The lead investigator told my secretary that she had nothing to worry about. When he noticed that I was within hearing distance, he stopped talking. On the Inventory list, most entries were marked, "Miscellaneous" making it impossible to determine exactly what had been removed. I called the investigators within 30 days and was told that files were not ready to copy. Several calls were made thereafter, but none were returned.

What was not taken on May 2d helps confirm American Express taking part: A file containing $1.7 Million in wires and other payments to the (name withheld) along with two contracts with the (name withheld) spelling out my payment schedule for services involving American Express were conspicuously left, though they had been moved. And, it was even stranger that the investigators didn't take the files belonging to those businesses that had followed the exact financial processing as (name withheld), but had paid their accounts in full and thus found to be up to standard, an obvious flaw in the American Express theory that (name withheld) actions were criminal. Add to this the insider emails showing how we operated was proper. These emails, straight from American Express, make obvious they encouraged credit card laundering, factoring and mail fraud.

Moreover, for an upcoming trial in Kentucky, I had begun to gather support documents all of which were piled on a table in my office. Realizing that our computers had been hacked thought to be by American Express - I also downloaded various important files to disk or hard copy with intent to eliminate them from viewing. I politely asked the investigators to please don't take these critical files; many are irreplaceable. Even so, the investigators took every file furthering my belief that American Express was behind the burgle.  

Subsequent to the May 2d burgle, a meeting had been scheduled with American Express representatives (July 12, 2007), but was abruptly cancelled that morning after someone from the DA's office in Pittsburgh called American Express stating that the meeting was meaningless as subpoenas were imminent.  The cancellation came minutes after phone discussions with my attorneys about expectations of the meeting. Was my phone tapped? Petty question, except:

Immediately, upon finding out that the DA's office had been responsible for the cancellation of our meeting with American Express, I phoned my (PA) attorney. Over the phone, I strongly suggested that "American Express has the Pittsburgh DA's office in its back pocket". Thus it came as no surprise when my (KY) attorney later told me that American Express denied that the DA had called them stating that subpoenas were imminent.  

And, when I voluntarily visited the investigators earlier, I mentioned that American Express representative, (name withheld), was only one of the employees they needed to examine; American Express was the real problem. I also told the story of suspected terrorist, (name withheld), how he destroyed the (name withheld) entities and his link to American Express. Both matters were surprisingly ignored. I am reminded of Bernie Madoff and his $50 Billion Ponzi scheme. The SEC, even after receiving numerous warnings, refused to act. That failure cost investors billions. 

When an enemy is drowning, thrust a fire hose down his throat:

My AAA credit rating and remaining credit lines were in due course destroyed after your investigators took all my personal and business credit cards along with all paid credit card bills, current bills and related notes and documents. Without these resources, I sat powerless.

Since all papers connected to (name withheld), ECB Trucking and OB Construction were also taken, I was unable to collect $1,000,000 owed me by (name withheld); unable to buy ECB and OB which meant no future income. My company was consequently destroyed and I lost the church - I worked so hard to restore - to the bank.

As a direct result, I have been forced into impoverished retirement living in my step-daughter's home. We can not afford to pay rent, insurance or taxes. At age 67, I am running out of time. All my assets have been sold to pay bills leaving me the only one with no money and enormous debts. In the end, I personally paid American Express well over $1,000,000 from borrowed money together with fees I earned by way of 2 contracts with the (name withheld). No one else paid a dime; (name withheld) received $1,800,000. $1,000,000 $750,000 was earned by American Express, but not paid. The remainder has to do with accounting errors and compound interest. All figures are verifiable 

Here is what I know about American Express:

In my instance, and logically in thousands of other cases, American Express, through its sales representatives, both card and merchant, both local and office, instructed us on preserving cash and creating cash float, parent guarantees, cycling, avoiding red flags and new card account creation, while incessantly promoting greater spend. Each month, the spend had to be paid in full - as is the case for 80% of all American Express card accounts - which meant that each month, circumstances dictated that we create new and larger internal invoices. The "net" result was that each month's invoices were generated mainly to pay American Express spend plus interest.

 

Trapped using these irreversible tactics, American Express had cunningly created a continuous monthly turnover of ever-increasing cash, each month charging a fee of three percent. In other words, two million dollars charged each month means that two million dollars were rolled over 12 times per year at $60,000 per month or $720,000 gross profit per year plus the effect of monthly growth and compounding. That's well over 36%. If this is what they call factoring, it works well for American Express, all of which traces back to American Express double dealing saying they didn't permit factoring but encouraged and allowed it anyway.

February 24, 2009, Fox News announced that 8% of American Express card accounts are deemed uncollectible, noting that the company has traditionally been recognized as having the most credit worthy customers in the industry. Yet, American Express experiences more losses than most of its competitors. Wall Street understands:

The stock, a Dow component, fell 0.4 percent to $12.11. Among its peers, Visa Inc rose 0.6 percent to $54.55, Discover Financial surged 2.3 percent to $5.70, Capital One Financial advanced 3.7 percent to $9.47 and MasterCard rose 1.4 percent to $154.77.

Furthermore, over six months, as much as $500,000 in fees were accumulated by American Express to maintain high pointless bank balances created to fulfill a fraudulent claim that credit lines would be slashed if they were not used. That money is in part why I had to borrow.

In a letter to your investigators on April 13, 2007, "We understand your taking sides with American Express. They are huge, respected and powerful." However, if you choose not to investigate the practices used by American Express to market products and make profits, you permit an immoral organization to survive and prosper. If instead, you are probing, bless you.

Sincerely,

Richard Shumaker

NOTE: US Attorney refused to act against American Express.

Never Criticize the US Attorney!

"Lo and behold, in what seemed like hours, on March 10, 2009, to counteract my apparent impudence and disrespect, out of the blue, I was indicted by a Federal Grand Jury on one count each of mail and wire fraud supported by three-year old, hackneyed charges. A May 12 phone conversation with the USPS lead investigator convinced me that the indictment was in fact set off by this letter."

Justice Department statistics recently obtained by Legal Times, which reveal that 99.9 percent of the defendants called before federal grand juries are indicted, buttress the belief -- and concern -- that prosecutors today almost always get what they want from a system originally set up to protect citizens from governmental overreaching.

"The grand jury, as we now know it, is a foolish anachronism," says Arnold Burns, who was deputy attorney general in the Reagan administration and currently serves on a National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers task force to change the grand jury system. "It is 100 percent in the control of the prosecutor."

Given that the Indictment issued against me on March 10, 2009 appears legally insufficient, severely flawed in its construction, and completely devoid of legal findings, read an open letter to the Pittsburgh Grand Jury convened on March 10, 2009 entitled Sin of Omission.

 ... Richard Shumaker

   

Copyright 2010 Richard Shumaker. All Rights Reserved.